I had an interesting afternoon today. Corina asked me if I could help her move one of El Jordan’s (the centre where Corina works) families (a street family who are trying to get their lives sorted out). They were having problems with their landlord, and need to move as soon as possible. So off we went, Corina in her SUV, her husband in his and me in my truck.

We drove…and drove…and drove…to the very edge of the city where the “roads” are just sand trails and it’s a mix of houses and fields. The family had everything packed up when we arrived, and it didn’t take long to get it all loaded up. There’s only so much you can fit into one room. Because I had the cab space, the family rode with me. Mom and Dad and the two youngest (a baby and a three year old) and the dog in the back seat, and me and the two older girls (five and six) in the front. I don’t think the girls had been in a vehicle much, because it seemed to be quite the exciting ride for them. Every vehicle we passed would get a “BEEP BEEP!” and a wave to tell them to get out of the way.

Then the problems started. The roof racks on Corina’s husband’s truck came off along with the mattresses and bed frames they were supporting. That meant repacking everything in the other vehicles to try to fit everything in. The older girls were sitting in the drivers seat of my truck pretending to drive and for some strange reason, I thought it would be funny to teach them how to honk the horn. Like trying to repack my truck in the blazing sun wasn’t annoying enough. Then the baby overheated. And I got stuck in the sand. And the mom kept breastfeeding the baby to try to settle him down. I’ve grown accustomed to that, but somehow today it was throwing me off. I was trying to drive in crazy traffic and she’d ask me a question and when I glanced back at her to answer…there they were…

Ah life.

But it was fun. The girls sang “I May Never March in the Infantry” for us and Corina stopped and bought us all a pop. I accidentally hit a bump as one of the little ones was taking a drink and she ended up with Sprite covering her face from her hairline to her chin. It was pretty cute. She had that big eyed “What just happened?!” look on her face. =) I did have a very interesting conversation with the mom about her past. She’s had a difficult and sad life. But there was a definite joy when she talked about Corina and the help that she’s been. Then we talked about the fact that God has a purpose for her and her family, and you could see the hope that she had. It was good.

That’s all. Just another little snapshot of a moment in my life. If you have a moment, pray for this family. They have a long road ahead of them, but they seem determined. They sell little Christmas trees and Santa Claus dolls that hang from your windshield to support the family. So now I have another little Christmas tree for my house and a Santa Claus hanging from my windshield (he’s actually a bit scarey looking and just keeps singing the first line from “Jingle Bells” over and over again…I think he’ll become a gift for someone…).

Have a great day!

Ken